Page 28 of Immortal Sun

“How special.” The guy says with an obvious sneer in my direction like I’m anything but. “Anyway, I’m off to work. Thanks for another shit meal.”

“Did you at least pay?” Cyrus asks in a bored tone.

“Do you even care?” the guy fires back. “Bill the dickhead.”

“Oh, I will.”

The guy walks past us with ease. “Charge extra.”

“I always do.” Cyrus laughs. “Work hard, Kratos.”

Kratos salutes us both and walks out.

A waitress brings us two menus and two cups of coffee, as I look back down the street. The guy looks ready to yell at anyone who speaks to him; people give him a wide berth like they too know that speaking might cause him to snap.

“He’s not as bad as he looks,” Cyrus says like he’s a mind reader. “He also has an extremely keen sense of smell, he hates perfume. He smells me a mile away and always looks pissed about it. Do you know what you want?”

I glance down at the wooden menu then back up, finally getting a good view of the pub. It’s what I would expect but beautifully intricate. The walls are wooden and are littered with different stories or mythologies. “Greek mythology, the fall of Hercules, Achilles…” I point and smile. “Mesopotamia, I don’t know as much about that one. Oh, Gilgamesh! One of my favorite stories, I had to read it in college and became obsessed.” I frown. “Roman mythology.” I laugh. “Vampires? They have a mythology too?”

“Vlad the Impaler, horrible imm—person.” Cyrus nods. “Glad you finally noticed all the hard work we put into the décor.”

“This is incredible!”

“Go explore. You know you want to.” He smiles into his coffee. “I’ll order for you while you look.”

He finally glances up at me, and I do it again; I stare into his eyes.

An orange flame burns before he frowns and tilts his head like nothing happened.

I back up.

“Heed all warnings here, small one.” He winks. “Oh, but this is safe.” He shoves a glass of water toward me. “But before you hydrate, take a look around. There’s even a wall near the restrooms. You’ll find that one…highly entertaining.”

I bolt.

But it’s not because of excitement anymore.

It’s because I saw something, or I think I did.

Black spots fill my line of vision for a few minutes before I’m able to finally blink them away. It was like direct eye contact with the sun.

I should probably get my eyes checked when I get back home, dark spots can’t be a good sign, or I guess it could be my blood sugar?

I make a mental note to eat as much as possible, gather more mental strength, and attempt to listen as best I can.

Wait for my brother.

Don’t eat anything Enki bakes.

And never, never, stare too long into Cyrus’s eyes.

CHAPTER 9

CYRUS

“Better to fight and fall than to live without hope.” —Volsunga, ch. 12

Istart eating and ask the server, Mara, to bring out Cleo’s food in another few minutes.

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